Declared States of Emergency

This page lists the declared States of Emergency since 2002. Note: not all emergencies have had a state of emergency declared.

Declaring a state of emergency is a critical part of New Zealand’s response arrangements. It is the declaration of a state of emergency that provides Controllers and others with extra-ordinary powers designed to deliver an effective and swift response.

More detail about states of local emergency, and some useful tools, are available here, under the heading 'Emergency Declarations and Powers'.

A state of local emergency allows Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups to access emergency powers they would not normally have. These powers allow them to take actions to keep people safe such as

closing roads or public places.
undertaking works – for example, earthworks required for stabilising land and properties.
entering a property to rescue people or save lives.
removing or securing dangerous structures and material.
providing first aid, food or shelter.

A state of local emergency also allows the Group Controller to direct and coordinate personnel and resources that are made available to them, such as staff from local government or central government agencies who have been deployed to support the response.

A state of emergency will only be declared if the emergency powers are likely to be needed or a significant and coordinated response may be required. Not all emergencies have a state of emergency declared.

You can still go about your daily business under a state of local emergency but make sure you listen to and follow any instructions from civil defence and emergency services.

Year	Region	Hazard Type	Locality	Start Date	End Date	Declared Days	Comment
2002	Waikato	Flooding	Putararu & Tirau Wards	21/06/2002	23/06/2002	2	"Weather Bomb", water supply issues, road closures, no evacuations
2002	Waikato	Flooding	District	21/06/2002	23/06/2002	2	Up-scaled to District SOE, 1 death, evacuations required
2003	Wellington	Flooding	District	4/10/2003	9/10/2003	5	Damage to Paekakariki, evacuations required, duration of SOE due to clean-up
2004	Marlborough	Flooding	Picton Ward	17/02/2004	18/02/2004	1	Evacuations due to fear of landslip-induced dam break
2004	Manawatu-Wanganui	Flooding	District	16/02/2004	17/02/2004	1	Up-scaled to Regional SOE
2004	Manawatu-Wanganui	Flooding	Marton Ward	16/02/2004	17/02/2004	1	Up-scaled to Regional SOE
2004	Manawatu-Wanganui	Flooding	Region	17/02/2004	25/02/2004	8	"Weather Bomb", infrastructure disruptions, evacuations required
2004	Taranaki	Flooding	Patea Ward	17/02/2004	27/02/2004	10	Water supply issues, road closures, evacuations required
2004	Bay of Plenty	Flooding	Waiotahi Ward	17/07/2004	23/07/2004	6	Road closures, 1 death, evacuations required
2004	Bay of Plenty	Flooding	Whakatane Ward	17/07/2004	30/07/2004	13	Infrastructure disruptions, 1 death, evacuations required
2005	Bay of Plenty	Landslides	Edgecumbe-Tarawera Ward	17/05/2005	30/05/2005	13	Matata township damage due to debris flows
2005	Bay of Plenty	Landslides	Tauranga	18/05/2005	19/05/2005	1	Evacuations required, formally declared (?)
2006	Manawatu-Wanganui	Flooding	Region	7/07/2006	8/07/2006	1	SOE declared overnight to enforce evacuations
2007	Taranaki	Tornado	Region	5/07/2007	7/07/2007	2	Dwelling and property damage
2007	Northland	Flooding	District	10/07/2007	13/07/2007	3	Far North District area, dwelling damage
2007	Otago	Flooding	Milton Ward	30/07/2007	31/07/2007	1	Localised township flooding, but SOE declared
2007	Gisborne	Earthquake	Gisborne City	21/12/2007	22/12/2007	1	Building damage and power supply issues
2008	Marlborough	Flooding	Picton Ward	30/07/2008	31/07/2008	1	SOE declared to assist Police with evacuations
2009	Waikato	Landslides	Taupo Ward	29/06/2009	30/06/2009	1	Village of Waihi evacuated
2010	Canterbury	Earthquake	Region	4/09/2010	15/09/2010	11	Dwelling and property damage, infrastructure damage
2011	Canterbury	Earthquake	Christchurch City Council	22/02/2011	23/02/2011	1	181 deaths, major infrastructure and dwelling and property damage. Terminated when national state of emergency declared.
2011	Canterbury	Earthquake	National	23/02/2011	30/04/2011	66	181 deaths, major infrastructure and dwelling and property damage
2011	Hawkes Bay	Flooding	District	28/04/2011	3/05/2011	5	Central Hawke's Bay District area
2011	Nelson-Tasman	Flooding	District	13/12/2011	28/12/2011	15	Dwelling damage, infrastructure damage, evacuations required
2011	Canterbury	Earthquake	Region	23/12/2011	24/12/2011	1	NCMC activated, but stood down shortly thereafter
2012	Nil	-	-	-	-	-	Mt Tongariro unrest; no SOE’s declared
2013	Manawatu-Wanganui	Flooding	Whanganui Ward	14/10/2013	15/10/2013	1	Whanganui river threat
2014	Nil	-	-	-	-	-	Auckland power outage; no SOE's declared
2015	Chatham Islands	Cyclone	Chatham Islands	16/03/2015	19/03/2015	3	Cyclone Pam and rural fires
2015	Manawatu-Wanganui	Flooding	Rangitikei District	20/06/2015	22/06/2015	2	Dwelling damage, road closures
2015	Manawatu-Wanganui	Flooding	Whanganui District	20/06/2015	02/07/2015	12	Largest ever recorded flood in the Wanganui District; Dwelling damage, infrastructure damage, evacuations required
2015	Taranaki	Flooding	South Taranaki District	20/06/2015	27/06/2015	7	Flooding in Waitotara township in South Taranaki; evacuations required
2016	West Coast	Flooding	Westland District	24/03/2016	25/03/2016	1	Waiho River flooding at Franz Josef township; water supply issues, tourism impacts (i.e. loss of revenue)
2016	Canterbury	Earthquake	Region	15/11/2016	06/12/2016	22	Kaikoura Earthquake
2016	Kaikoura	Earthquake	District	14/11/2016	15/11/2016	1	Kaikoura Earthquake
2016	Hurunui	Earthquake	District	14/11/2016	15/11/2016	1	Kaikoura Earthquake
2016	Kaikoura	Earthquake	District	06/12/2016	09/12/2016	4	Kaikoura Earthquake
2016	Dunedin	Earthquake	Dunedin City	14/11/2016	14/11/2016	1	Kaikoura Earthquake
2017	Hawke's Bay	Fire	Hastings District	13/02/2017	15/02/2017	3	Hawke's Bay fires
2017	Canterbury	Fire	Christchurch & Selwyn	15/02/2017	01/03/2017	15	Christchurch Port Hills fires
2017	Manawatu-Wanganui	Flooding	Whanganui District	04/04/2017	06/04/2017	3	Declared in advance of expected impacts from Ex Tropical Cyclone Debbie
2017	Manawatu-Wanganui	Flooding	Rangitikei District	04/04/2017	06/04/2017	3	Declared in advance of expected impacts from Ex Tropical Cyclone Debbie
2017	Bay of Plenty	Flooding	Whakatane District	06/04/2017	11/04/2017	6	Edgecumbe flooding. State of local emergency overridden by Bay of Plenty declaration on 11 April 2017.
2017	Bay of Plenty	Flooding	Bay of Plenty	11/04/2017	14/04/2017	4	Bay of Plenty CDEM Group declared a state of local emergency covering the whole Bay of Plenty area in anticipation of heavy rainfall. As per the CDEM Act, this state of local emergency overrides the previous, more limited state of emergency over Whakatane District.
2017	Thames-Coromandel	Severe weather	Thames Coromandel District	12/04/2017	14/04/2017	3	Declared in advance of expected landfall of Cyclone Cook
2017	Whakatane	Severe Weather	Whakatane District	14/04/2017	21/04/2017	7	Local state of emergency declared for the Whakatane District to enable the continued response to Edgecumbe and the surrounding areas.
2017	Otago	Flooding	Dunedin City	21/07/2017	21/07/2017	1	State of local emergency overridden by Group declaration on 21 July 2017.
2017	Otago	Flooding	Clutha District	21/07/2017	21/07/2017	1	State of local emergency overridden by Group declaration on 21 July 2017.
2017	Otago	Flooding	Waitaki District	21/07/2017	21/07/2017	1	State of local emergency overridden by Group declaration on 21 July 2017.
2017	Otago	Flooding	Waitaki, Clutha and Dunedin City	21/07/2017	24/07/2017	4	Otago CDEM Group declaration for Waitaki, Clutha and Dunedin City. Declaration terminated on 24 July 2017 when local transition period came into force.
2017	Canterbury	Flooding	Timaru District	21/07/2017	22/07/2017	2	Flooding across district.
2017	Canterbury	Flooding	Selwyn District	21/07/2017	24/07/2017	4	Declaration owing to rising flood waters and the need to evacuate in Springs Ward.
2017	Canterbury	Flooding	Christchurch City	22/07/2017	25/07/2017	4	Declaration terminated on 25 July 2017 when local transition period came into force.
2018	Otago	Severe weather	Dunedin City	01/02/2018	02/02/2018	2	Declared in advance of expected landfall of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Fehi.
2018	West Coast	Severe weather	Buller District	01/02/2018	03/02/2018	3	Declared in advance of expected landfall of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Fehi.
2018	Canterbury	Severe weather	Christchurch City	20/02/2018	21/02/2018	2	Declared in advance of Cyclone Gita.
2018	West Coast	Severe weather	Buller District	20/02/2018	21/02/2018	2	Declaration owing to risk to life and households from Cyclone Gita
2018	West Coast	Severe weather	Grey District	20/02/2018	21/02/2018	2	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gita
2018	Canterbury	Severe weather	Selwyn District	20/02/2018	21/02/2018	2	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gita
2018	Nelson-Tasman	Severe weather	Region	20/02/2018	23/02/2018	4	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gita
2018	West Coast	Severe weather	Westland District	20/02/2018	21/02/2018	2	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gita
2018	Taranaki	Severe weather	Region	20/02/2018	21/02/2018	2	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gita. Group state of emergency terminated on 21/02/2018 and replaced by local state of emergency for New Plymouth
2018	Taranaki	Severe weather	New Plymouth District	21/02/2018	25/02/2018	5	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gita
2018	Bay of Plenty	Severe weather	Ngongotaha, Rotorua District	29/04/2018	06/05/2018	7	Declaration owing to extreme flooding event
2019	Nelson-Tasman	Fire	Region	06/02/2019	27/02/2019	21	Declaration owing to the effects of the Pigeon Valley Fire
2019	West Coast	Severe Weather	Westland District	26/03/2019	29/03/2019	4	Declaration owing to severe weather event
2019	Canterbury	Flooding	Timaru District	07/12/2019	13/12/2019	6	Declaration owing to flooding in the Rangitata area
2020	Southland	Flooding	Fiordland Community Board Area	03/02/2020	04/02/2020	1	Declaration owing to flooding in Fiordland. Replaced by region-wide declaration on 4 February.
2020	Southland	Flooding	Region	04/02/2020	18/02/2020	14	Declaration owing to extensive flooding in Southland region, including Gore. Declaration extended on 10 February for a further seven days. State of emergency ended on 18 February and replaced by a transition notice.
2020	Otago	Flooding	Clutha District	04/02/2020	07/02/2020	3	Declaration owing to widespread flooding in Clutha District
2020	National	Pandemic	National	25/03/2020	13/05/2020	49	A nationwide state of national emergency was declared on 25 March 2020 at 12:21pm due to COVID-19 and was extended six times. The state of national emergency ended on 13 May 2020 at 12:21pm and was replaced by a National Transition Period. The state of national emergency covered all of New Zealand including the Chatham Islands, Stewart Island, and other offshore islands.
2020	Hawkes Bay	Flooding	Napier City	09/11/2020	13/11/2020	4	Declaration owing to flooding in Napier City
2021	Canterbury	Severe weather	Ashburton District	30/05/2021	30/05/2021	1	Declaration due to the severe weather event impacting the Mid Canterbury Region. Replaced by region-wide declaration on 30 May 2021.
2021	Canterbury	Severe weather	Timaru District	30/05/2021	30/05/2021	1	Declaration due to heavy rain. Replaced by region-wide declaration on 30 May 2021.
2021	Canterbury	Flooding	Selwyn District	30/05/2021	30/05/2021	1	Declaration due to flooding. Replaced by region-wide declaration on 30 May 2021.
2021	Canterbury	Flooding	Region	30/05/2021	10/06/2021	12	Declaration owing to severe flooding across the region. At 4:00pm on 3 June 2021 the state of local emergency was terminated for the Kaikoura District Council, Christchurch City Council and Waimate District Council. At 4:00pm on 3 June 2021 the state of local emergency was extended for the areas of the Waimakariri District Council, Selwyn District Council and Ashburton District Council. The state of local emergency expired at 4:00pm on 10 June 2021.
2021	Wellington	Coastal hazards	Wellington City Southern and Eastern wards	29/06/2021	30/06/2021	1	Declaration owing to the severe sea swell event affecting the Wellington South Coast
2021	West Coast	Flooding	Buller District	16/07/2021	06/08/2021	22	Declaration owing to risk to persons as a result of flooding from river and coastal inundation. Declarations extending the state of local emergency were made on 23 July 2021 and 29 July 2021. The state of local emergency was terminated at 1.15pm on 6 August and replaced with a notice of local transition period.
2021	Marlborough	Flooding	Marlborough District	17/07/2021	28/07/2021	11	Declaration owing to heavy rainfall and consequential flooding. A declaration extending the state of local emergency was made on 23 July 2021. The state of local emergency was terminated at 12.01pm on 28 July and replaced with a notice of local transition period.
2021	Tairawhiti	Flooding	Region	04/11/2021	05/11/2021	1	Declaration owing to flooding caused by heavy rain was made at 2:00pm on 4 November 2021. The state of local emergency was lifted at 3:40pm on 5 November 2021 after the rain abated and water levels around the region dropped.
2022	Buller	Severe Weather	District	02/02/2022	05/02/2022	4	Declaration owing to severe weather expected to cause flooding in Westport. Westport residents were advised to self-evacuate to friends and family outside Westport if possible and a mandatory evacuation order was issued for parts of Westport on 4 February 2022. The impacts of the severe weather were not as bad as initially expected and evacuated residents were allowed to return home on the morning of 5 February 2022.
2022	Buller	Severe Weather	District	10/02/2022	21/02/2022	11	Declaration owing to further rain impacts on the district. The state of local emergency was lifted at 4:15pm on 21 February and replaced with a notice of local transition period.
2022	Tairāwhiti	Severe Weather	Region	23/03/2022	01/04/2022	9	Declaration owing to severe weather and heavy rainfall, and the need to evacuate persons affected. Declaration extended on 29 March 2022. The state of local emergency was terminated at 10:30am on 1 April 2022 when a transition period came into effect.
2022	Canterbury	Flooding	Pleasant Point - Temuka Ward	20/07/2022	27/07/2022	7	Declaration owing to heavy rain flood event. The state of local emergency expired on 27 July 2022 and replaced with a notice of local transition period.
2022	West Coast	Severe Weather	Region	16/08/2022	23/08/22	7	Declaration owing to severe weather event impacting the West Coast
2022	Nelson-Tasman	Severe Weather	Nelson Tasman Emergency Management Group Area	17/08/22	31/08/22	14	Declaration owing to severe weather event and evacuations. The declaration was extended on 22 August 2022
2022	Marlborough	Severe Weather	District	19/08/22	26/08/22	7	Declaration owing to impacts of severe weather
2023	Tairāwhiti	Severe Weather	District	10/01/2023	20/01/2023	10	Declaration owing to the impact of ex-tropical Cyclone Hale
2023	Auckland	Severe Weather	Region	27/01/23	14/02/23	16	Declaration owing to severe weather. The declaration was extended on 3 February 2023 and again on 9 February 2023. The state of local emergency ended on 14 February 2023 when a State of National Emergency was declared.
2023	Waikato	Severe Weather	Waitomo District	28/01/23	30/01/23	2	Declaration owing to severe weather causing flooding.
2023	Northland	Severe Weather	Region	31/01/23	10/02/23	1	Declared as a precautionary step ahead of severe weather.
2023	Waikato	Severe Weather	Thames-Coromandel District	03/02/23	14/02/23	11	Declared as pre-emptive step due to the potential for land slips and further erosion. The declaration was extended on 9 February 2023. The state of local emergency ended on 14 February 2023 when a State of National Emergency was declared.
2023	Northland	Severe Weather	Region	12/02/23	14/02/23	3	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gabrielle. The state of local emergency ended on 14 February 2023 when a State of National Emergency was declared.
2023	Bay of Plenty	Severe Weather	Ōpōtiki District	13/02/23	14/02/23	2	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gabrielle. The state of local emergency ended on 14 February 2023 when a State of National Emergency was declared.
2023	Bay of Plenty	Severe Weather	Whakatane District	13/02/23	14/02/23	2	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gabrielle. The state of local emergency ended on 14 February 2023 when a State of National Emergency was declared.
2023	Waikato	Severe Weather	Waikato District	13/02/23	14/02/23	2	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gabrielle. The state of local emergency ended on 14 February 2023 when a State of National Emergency was declared.
2023	Waikato	Severe Weather	Hauraki District	13/02/23	14/02/23	2	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gabrielle. The state of local emergency ended on 14 February 2023 when a State of National Emergency was declared.
2023	Tairāwhiti	Severe Weather	Region	13/02/23	14/02/23	2	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gabrielle. The state of local emergency ended on 14 February 2023 when a State of National Emergency was declared.
2023	Manawatu-Whanganui	Severe Weather	Tararua District	14/02/23	14/02/23	1	Declaration owing to Cyclone Gabrielle. The state of local emergency ended the same day when a State of National Emergency was declared.
2023	National	Severe Weather	Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay Regions and Tararua District	14/02/23	14/03/23	28	At 8:43am on 14 February 2023 a State of National Emergency declared owing to Cyclone Gabrielle for the Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay Regions. A further declaration was made at 1:17pm on 14 February to include the Tararua District. The state of national emergency was extended on Tuesday the 21st of February, Tuesday the 28th of February, and Tuesday the 7th of March, with each extension lasting an additional seven days. As of the 28th of February, the State of National Emergency concluded for the Bay of Plenty region. On the 3rd of March, the State of National Emergency was concluded in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, and the Tararua District. The State of National Emergency, which encompassed Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay, concluded on the 14th of March.
2023	Auckland	Severe weather	Region	09/05/23	11/05/23	2	Declaration owing to severe weather. The state of local emergency was terminated at 9:52 am on 11 May 2023 and replaced with a notice of local tranistion period.

Declared States of Emergency

What is a state of local emergency?